What's applespell.service?? Do I have a virus?!

A few weeks ago, this app has mysteriously appeared in my dock. It does not have an icon, just the default app icon. It says "AppleSpell.service"

Upon first starting up, it is not running. If I try and remove it from the dock, it runs (arrow shows up underneath). I also noticed that it possibly has something to do with iChat, if I start using iChat, it will run. The only way to quit it is by force quitting.

I tried deleting this, but the file or anything related is nowhere to be found.

really confused and starting to think it's time I did something about it.

Staff Member

It's definitely not a virus- There are no viruses that currently affect Mac OS X. Have a look at this old thread about the same issue, which gave two possible solutions:

1. Create a new user account and use it instead of your old one (quite a hassle, avoid this if possible)
2. Copy /System/Library/Services/AppleSpell.service to the desktop. Delete the original (requires admin password), then move the copy back to /System/Library/Services/ (again requiring an admin password).

I've never had this problem so haven't tried either solution and can't guarantee that they work, but they're worth a try.

A few weeks ago, this app has mysteriously appeared in my dock. It does not have an icon, just the default app icon. It says "AppleSpell.service"

Upon first starting up, it is not running. If I try and remove it from the dock, it runs (arrow shows up underneath). I also noticed that it possibly has something to do with iChat, if I start using iChat, it will run. The only way to quit it is by force quitting.

I tried deleting this, but the file or anything related is nowhere to be found.

really confused and starting to think it's time I did something about it.

Click to expand...

Applespell is not a virus, its a program that always runs in the background on your computer. Just like Core Audio, or the login page. All that stuff is stored in wired memory. The fact that yours is showing in the dock is worrysome though. Repair permissions and try what hex suggested.

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